E3 2012 hands-on: One Piece: Pirate Warriors is a treat for anime fans

I had the chance to play through a section of One Piece: Pirate Warriors' story mode, which revisited the first confrontation with the infamous Buggy the Clown. This is also where Luffy runs into and recruits Nami. Though this section was presented as a single-player feature, the game does feature a co-op mode as well.

Serving as a tutorial for the demo, I was introduced to Luffy and Zoro as playable characters. Both had special moves and combos to perform which were both easy to execute and enjoyable to watch. While mostly a button masher akin to the Dynasty Warriors series, One Piece: Pirate Warriors' story alone should be able to pull in fans anxious to play through the experience.

Not to be outdone by the story, the art really makes the title come to life, as it feels like you're actually in the anime itself. I was truly impressed with the faithful adaptation presented to me, and it has quickly become a title on my "must play list" for this year.

Currently the game is a PS3 exclusive and is voiced entirely in Japanese. I would really like to see an English adaption with the original voice cast, as those are the characters I fell in love with. However, fans of the Japanese series will be quite pleased with the voice quality I experienced during my short time with the game. Unfortunately, no North American release date was given, but folks with Japanese accounts can download and enjoy the title now.